A Harbaugh-49ers re-set: He’s still the coach, they still want him, but everybody gets that they’re treading a thin line

The NFL scouting combine is wrapping up, and yes, Jim Harbaugh will still very much be the 49ers coach when the last stopwatch clicks and interview winds down.

Somehow, Harbaugh will endure it all without getting traded or fired or demanding that anybody else get traded or fired.

Somehow, despite credible reports suggesting great storms of intrigue around him, Harbaugh will go back to 49ers headquarters this week and he and general manager Trent Baalke will get back to running this team together.

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For at least one more clenched season. I think.

Are the GM and coach best pals like they were in 2011? Of course not, which has caused much speculation and certainly has inflated the tension at 4949 Centennial these days.

But the 49ers didn’t want to trade Harbaugh recently; and Harbaugh didn’t want to jump to Cleveland or anywhere else, at least not right now.

(Whether any serious off-line conversations took place and that led to the blockbuster ProFootballTalk report, we may never know.)

Both sides are better off in the strained status quo for the time being.

Of course, none of the larger 49ers truths are new at all, as Harbaugh and CEO Jed York move towards critical contract-extension talks.

The latest episode is just a nuclear wake-up call for the 49ers principals: As long as Harbaugh is their coach, he will agitate for money
and influence and maybe also just for the sake of agitation.

It’s just the way Harbaugh operates and always has; it’s part of what makes him a great and frantic coach.

He’s at his best when there’s dysfunction above and near him; when it’s too calm, he’ll shake things up himself just to get it going again.
As long as Harbaugh agitates, there will be crises brewing and other teams beckoning for his services.

Harbaugh and his agent David Dunn never mind any of that, nor should they, especially if it puts pressure on York to pay Harbaugh the
top salary in the NFL.

Yes, there are a lot of things going on here.

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Harbaugh and Baalke have had a little cold war for quite some time and they’ve worked through a lot of it already, at least for the short term.

I’m told the two men shared thoughts during the combine as they have for the last year—not as BFFs, but as measured work partners both fiercely determined to win a Super Bowl.

There are probably too many past disagreements to fully repair the relationship, I think: Maybe Jim now wants to win to spite Trent and Trent wants to win to spite Jim, but oh well.

Either way works for the rest of the franchise, as long as a balance can be maintained.

I’m told that even at it’s worst, things have never gotten too close to a blow-up and that York and Harbaugh continue to have a solid relationship.

So now it comes down to how the 49ers manage through it, and that’s mostly up to York.

If things get totally out of hand, I have little doubt that York would lean to Baalke over Harbaugh, though I know it drives many 49ers fans crazy to hear that.

But there are solid reasons for this.

First and most importantly, Harbaugh has never stayed in any coaching job longer than four years and he’s entering his fourth with the 49ers, so it would seem odd to bank everything on him for what remains of his tenure.

Baalke is the more stable personality and he’s the one York has already signed through 2016—one year longer than Harbaugh’s current deal.

Second, accruing talent wisely is the most important aspect of the NFL and though Baalke has had his share of misses, he has also brought in NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith, Eric Reid, Mike Iupati and Anquan Boldin, among others.

You can’t compete with Seattle and Baltimore if you don’t have that same level of talent, no matter who’s doing the coaching.

But the 49ers have the talent and they need Harbaugh into the short-term future.

And Harbaugh needs the 49ers for his continued best shot at a Super Bowl title.

Along the way, for as long as Harbaugh remains the coach, there will be storms and speculation, there will be every kind of tempest that Harbaugh’s mere presence can summon.

The 49ers knew some of that when they hired him, and it has absolutely been worth it so far.

Now they know the full extent of it, and I believe it will be worth it to them… for at least one more rowdy season.

How quickly we forget. Before Harbaugh, the Yorks were considered failure, and the front office was a failure. In Harbaugh’s first year, Baalke was considered a genius, and York was the new up and coming young owner. They were all riding the wave of the on-field success created by Harbaugh with pretty much the same roster that sucked the year before.

Here’s the genius of the front office. In 2010, we have 2 pro-bowlers: Willis and Smith. In 2011, we have 9:

JimHarbaughsguys

The QB in 2011 got that HC the HC of the Year award.
The GM the GM of the Year Award
The QB Won comeback player.

Then on a different team in 2013, that same QB
Won his HC AFC HC of the Year Award
Won his GM GM of the Year Award
Won comeback player from cbssports

JH only proved that he isn’t a horrible coach like Sing was. A great HC wins the Super Bowl. Has his team ready to run the next play (after the Gore run, we wasted a TO). Makes adjustments in games. See what Seattle did to us in the Title game? Doesn’t dump a 19-5 QB.

Great coaches don’t dump 19-5 QB’s when it would not have surprised anybody if the Niners had gone 5-19 in that same stretch considering they were 6-10 before and the strike hurt them more than anybody else in 2011. Only egocentric people think they will get better from 19-5. Well, he didn’t.

That same QB who got lucky having JH as his HC, must have been lucky again when he took over the worst team in the NFL at 2-14 and led them to 11-4. Had he played in the last game, he likely gets to 12-4. Just as many wins as Kap while being on the worst team from the year before and Kap being on the 2nd best team from the year before. The biggest thing JH did was get Alex to play well. Well, the fact that the next HC Alex had managed to get the same thing suggests that maybe Alex was good the whole time. His coaches just stank before.

JH screwed up when he made the switch. That is why this whole trade “discussion” ever happened. If he didn’t screw up, no way does anybody ever talk to anybody at all. York never answers the phone or returns the message. JH promised a Super Bowl, and he failed to deliver. Both he and his QB won’t get rewarded for failing.

victor soma

dump that know nothing about football bean counter weird brown guy with the funny name. Obviously it’s his fault, all he does is screw up the 49ers, every damn time.

That Man

Spot on

Donnie

It’s really sad to see Jed revert to the Yorkish ways we all hoped he had moved this organization beyond. Unfortunately water finds its proper level. Jed is a York. And that;s just no good for anyone involved here. Except maybe Baalke and Jim Tomsula.

Harbaugh rescued Jed from following in his fathers disgrace. Harbaugh got Jed’s stadium built and funded.

And now Jed is going to throw it all away to pacify a GM who has, literally, missed on 17 of his last 19 draft picks, including the entire 2012 draft.

Harbaugh took a pathetic, hapless franchise and turned into an elite, every year superbowl contender. He deserves to be paid as the top 3 coach he is. And about 20 other teams would leave over the other to pay him as such.

But Jed’s a York. So he won’t pay him. And we will likely watch Harbaugh win his 1st Super Bowl with another organization.

Sad times Jed. But you are a York. And that just is no good for anyone.

htwaits

It must have been Harbaugh that Dumped Montana, and a few other Hall of Fame players. Have you forgotten the early Steve Young years after Montana left? He couldn’t win the big one. When he finally did win the Superbowl, they were in such a deep cap hole that they were forced to let important players go.

During the Walsh years the 49ers had a big advantage. They had an owner who would spend anything that it took to win, and was constantly on the verge of firing Walsh. The NFL put instigated the cap to stop the 49ers and their owner. Since the cap, we’ve been to the Superbowl two times and won one. That’s not bad given the much more level playing field

Now we have a proven winner in Harbaugh, only the era of the only acceptable result is winning the Superbowl is over, and it’s not coming back.The standard now is just to get into the tournament and get hot.

Everyone pick your scape goat and have at them. That’s what fans are for.

Donnie

And lets call a spade a spade here: Half the defense was put together by McCloughan. Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Terell Brown, Ahmad Brooks, Tremaine Brock, and Ray McDonald are all McCloughan guys. Lets look at who Baalke brought in: Carlos Rogers (weak link in our secondary), Donte Whitner (can’t cover, practically lost the SB against the Ravens by himself), Eric Reid (love him, no issues. You can also make the case that he was a Harbaugh pick given that Reid almost went to Stanford to play for JH, so he knew what the kid was all about), Aldon Smith (great pass rusher, mediocre against the run, and is a criminal off the field. Literally.).

What has Baalke REALLY done that is special? Absolutely. Nothing.

Ok, lets look at offense.

Starting out, I am going to give Jim Harbaugh credit for Kaepernick (which even Baalke does) and for getting Boldin from his brother. You can argue those, but nobody else really does. And Boone was an undrafted Free Agent. So that’s more about Harbaugh’s staff developing him than the flyer Baalke took.

Staley, Gore, Vernon, Crabtree: All McCloughan picks.

Baalke drafted Iupati (who is good but was mediocre in 2013), Anthony Davis(who got tossed around like a ragdoll against Seattle. I think he’s overrated but open to debate), Goodwin (we need to upgrade at center), Bruce Miller (good but Niners didnt miss a beat after he went down).

So Harbaugh picked the QB and WR2, McCloughan picked LT, RB1, TE1, and WR1. Thus, our Quarterback, Running Back, both Wide Receivers, Tight End, and Left Tackle were all picked by someone other than Trent Baalke.

Joe was injured my friend for nearly 2 full seasons. The Niners could no longer depend on him to be healthy.

Had Joe not been injured and his elbow issues never happened, Joe remains the QB. Steve never takes over. And Joe didn’t just miss 1 game. He missed 31 in a row. Walsh wasn’t around either by that time.

“Have you forgotten the early Steve Young years after Montana left?”

No. I haven’t. And had the Niners not won the Super Bowl in 1994, that team is dismantled. Have you forgotten how Eddie nearly fired Walsh after he didn’t win in 1987? The Niners and Steve had to win in 1994. Their jobs were on the line. Seifert wold have been gone for certain.

Jed runs the team now like Eddie did then. That is what fans like you and me wanted, remember? JH promised him a Super Bowl title in 2012 with Kap that Alex wouldn’t get for him. He failed. Then in 2013, he failed again. Now, Jed needs to wait to year 3 (at best) to see if he can do what he didn’t do in year 1 with Kap?

No way man. This team is like the 1994 team. Designed to win right now! Kap sucked big time. More than Alex or Steve ever did with a team like this. Steve dominated teams from the start in 1994. Kap barely managed to beat a 4-11 team in the final game at Candlestick Park! The guy is a loser. He never won in college. He failed to win in the NFL with a top 3 D and a HOF RB and a top 3 OL. What happens when he doesn’t have those things? Which one can fully expect if he gets his Cutler like contract. Will he win more or lose more with a worse team? The team will rely on him to win the games like NE does of Brady and NO does from Brees. And he hasn’t ever done so when the pressure is on him. Had he, we win the last 2 Super Bowls.

As for JH, he isn’t a guy who stays for long in any one place. Check it out for yourself. The era of losing playoff games has never gone over well with owners. And the Niners lost 2 in which their Offensive minded guru HC and his hand picked QB failed miserably beyond belief when they needed to deliver.

I don’t know where you were, but the hire of JH meant the old expectations were back. Super Bowl or Bust. 3 times a bust? Don’t expect a lot more busts than that without severe consequences.

Bigmouth

Some people care more about efficiency and production than awards.

Some people aren’t still hung up on the trade of an average QB to make way for an above-average one.

Some people remember how miserable it was when the Yorks couldn’t hire a decent HC, let alone draft a franchise QB.

Some people are smart enough to realize how good we have it, and aren’t interested in some whiny troll’s recipe for losing.

David Harte

The only reason Jed York’s preference for Trent Baalke (and I agree with you) drives 49er fans crazy is that Baalke’s track record as a GM is minimal and very checkered, at best.

This guy has been given far too much credit for the current roster, especially when the best players in the organization (Frank Gore, Vernon Davis, Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Joe Staley, Ahmad Brooks…) predate him.

Of course there is also the glaring fact that Baalke tanked an entire draft in 2012, and may have made several mistakes last year…all while the Seahawks were loading up on talent.

Two other points: 1) Baalke’s best draft was 2011, particularly his 7th Round pick of Bruce Miller as a converted fullback. But Aldon Smith may well become a mistake–the kid is one DUI from a major suspension–and even if he cleans up his act, that pick should have been JJ Watt, a far better and more versatile defensive lineman taken four spots later; the fact that Kaepernick at #2 is credited to Baalke seems ridiculous–clearly, as a former QB, that was Harbaugh’s call. 2) Baalke’s best pick by far is Navarro Bowman, a great 3rd round selection in 2010. But then there are all the high value busts, or marginal players like LaMichael James, and if Tank Carradine and Marcus Lattimore are not frontline players, 2013 will be as disappointing as 2012.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks have rarely missed in the last four years, particularly with their top picks, and that is the standard now. Can York really be convinced Baalke is the man to match them? Why?

It’s a quick ride to ridicule, Jed, if you screw this decision up, and the sky-high ticket prices you are about to charge will make that fall especially ugly.

Your move.

Bigmouth

I think that’s a big part of it. But I also think it’s because the Yorks’ record is so spotty as well. Really, the one good decision they’ve made was to hire Harbaugh. I worry Jed has fooled himself into thinking he can do it again when the available evidence makes that questionable at best.

Regardless, I think it’s all posturing. Harbaugh’s agent (possibly with Lombardi’s assistance) used CLE for leverage much like he tried to do with the Texas job. Now CLE feels used, and the Niners don’t want to get played. But I think an extension is imminent and this hardball is just prelude.

megreenyou

HarBOOR is greedy and boorish. Send him to Siberia. There are too many other good coaches available. HarBOOR, NO THANK YOU.
The most disloyal, greedy person on planet earth.

Dirk Suave

My only disagreement is that Fisher is a great coach as well. Took his titans to a SB and lost it almost exactly like JH. Only
His Titan team had less talent and a better QB.

Bigmouth

McNair was not better than Kap the year they went to the Super Bowl.

Dirk Suave

Um yes he was… There is no question about that. McNair was a far better “QB” at that time. He could read and make his progressions with nowhere near the talent that Kaep has had.
After Eddie George who was worth his salt on that offense? Mason? Who else? That team was built on McNair George and Kearse. Less talent that came four yards short of winning Super Bowl.

I love Kaep as a QB but at this stage McNair was clearly better as a QB. I’m not saying that I don’t think Kaep will be as good or better. The only this Kaep has over McNair is speed. But McNair was a great scrambler too just not balls out fast.

Bigmouth

But… what’s your evidence McNair could read defenses better?

Here’s my evidence he couldn’t: McNair was worse in every passing category than Kap, including rate stats like Yards/Attempt. Those 1999 numbers were right in line with McNair’s career up to that point. He didn’t surpass Kap until 2001, his 7th year in the league and his 5th year as a starter.

I agree we had a more talented team this year, especially on defense. But I think you are underestimating TEN’s talent on offense, especially their rushing game. George carried a heavier load than Gore and it’s reflected in his much higher DVOA ranking.

Donnie

I think what Jed is beginning to realize is that there is ZERO support from the fanbase to back Baalke over Harbaugh. None. And Jed needs to stop wherever the other leaks are coming from (Paraag?).

The 49ers are resembling the 1998-2010 York Family Dysfunction.

Jed needs to give Harbaugh his contract and money. And probably let him give final approval on draft picks (I am fine letting Baalke make the call on free agents and trades, but Baalkes last two drafts have been HORRENDOUS, HORRENDOUS. He doesn’t deserve to have carte blanche.)

Jed: You are backed into a corner with no leverage. Stop trying to convince yourself (with Paraag) by giving out battlefield promotions to guys like Baalke, who havent earned it.

Give it to the guy who saved your career and made your career.

Mark M

Harbaugh is the key to everything. He’s the reason the team has won, has been able to put the stadium issues in a bigger spotlight, and he’s the reason players want to be here. Without Harbaugh, Jed is a bumbling kid trying to figure out a proper path in his uncle’s shadow and Baalke is a fledgling GM trying to make a name for himself but with a mixed record. Without Harbaugh the new grand stadium opening isn’t nearly as grand.

Reminds me of an opinion piece I once read on why Eddie D should make the HOF as an owner. I never understood that perspective since he was the “dummy” who hired Joe Thomas before being the genius that “found” Bill Walsh. It’s the people you bring in that make your reputation in that ownership role and Harbaugh is the guy Jed hired who turned the franchise back into a winner. Harbaugh makes everyone look, smell, and feel better about the franchise. He’s worth far more to this franchise than just a coach at this point. I get that Jimbo is a prickly son of a b!#$& and there has to be limits to what is acceptable here. But this gamesmanship is smart and forces a correction in this man’s salary with the understanding of whom and what he is to the franchise. Pony up Jed. Your legacy is on the line here as well.

superbowl6

Atlanta and Green Bay are considered to have top tier GMs. Atlanta has won 1 playoff game and finished this year with an embarrassing record, and that’s with a pretty good head coach in Smith. Green Bay has won 1 Superbowl under the current regime but has underperformed in playoffs in other years with a very good coach in McCarthy.

The 49ers don’t have better talents than these teams but have beaten up on these teams repeatedly and have had far more success since Harbaugh took over. That’s to show the large difference in results a great coach can have over a good or even a very good one, given the same level of GMs (49ers probably have worse GM than these teams). On the other hand, the Patriots have had great successes despite making so many bad picks recently. Again, this shows the impact of a great coach.

What’s impressed me most about Harbaugh is the quality of the wins. Winning on the road over tough opponents such as Green Bay, New England, Atlanta, New Orleans, Carolina, Philadelphia, Arizona is very very impressive. In fact, just a few years ago, I wouldn’t be able to imagine how the 49ers can beat the Patriots or the Packers. It was just impossible. Now, I have come to expect it. That’s how much we have changed.

I think Harbaugh is in the same tier as Bilichick and Coughlin. These guys, while having different public persona, are all mad dogs in finding every single possible way to win. That’s why these guys have tremendous success over the years, especially on the road. That’s what I want from a head coach.

In fact, Harbaugh’s relentlessness is a weapon. That’s his role. He’s not supposed to be diplomatic or be a politician. He’s supposed to be relentless about finding ways to win. Jed York, on the other hand, is the head of the organization and needs to play his role of a leader and a bigger man here. He needs to manage the relationship with Harbaugh and work with him, not fighting him. Of course, mutual respect is a must for anything to work. I just hope York has the leadership skills and decision making skill to keep Harbaugh and spare the 49ers fan base of another dark football decade.

Keep’n It Real

Harbaugh is the #1 reason the 49ers have turned things around. Remember when NFL people were say “Baalke, who?” when Jed appointed him GM?

Baalke may have had “some” good moves, but as others have pointed out…his 2012 draft stunk it up *and* allowed the Seahawks to catch/pass the 49ers in an overall talent level. You can have a boatload of draft picks, but if the guys drafted don’t help the team, you’ve wasted draft bullets…and Baalke has done just that. Seattle’s front office is schooling him right now…

I’ll take Harbaugh, the draft picks, and someone like Mike Lombardi as GM…if it meant that Harbaugh stays with the team. I wouldn’t have confidence in Baalke being a GM “difference maker” that would allow the 49ers to let Harbaugh walk and plug in a lesser coach.

Jed…Uncle Eddie is on line 1.

roppert

2012 was horrendous. 2013 got one pro bowl quality player, and two more who might turn out great this year. But, I support your larger point – Harbaugh is the man Baalke is there to support him. Just like Walsh and McVae.

roppert

Cheer up, they can always rehire Mike Nolan

Darren35

I disagree, Harbaugh has to stop being an a** on the sideline. I’m not against winning, but when you throw tantrums, yell at officiating, it makes you look bad and embarrasses a long time fan. Can’t harbaugh just play the game, take the result, then do what he wants AFTER the game? Can’t Harbaugh NOT call out the opposition and can’t CK NOT mock fellow opposition with Kaepernicking or some other offensive habit? I’m not happy with the Yorks or the move to Santa Clara. Classless way to boondoggle Santa Clara out of funds for a team that could be going nowhere like the Marin County SMART train.

Darren35

So far in GM:
John Schneider>Trent Baalke

Mark M

I get some of that in fairness. But seems like your objections are more stylistic than anything else while I believe the winning trumps most things. The trash talk and emotional displays after scores are so common place now, it rarely gets to me anymore. I do prefer the days when we scored, acted like we’d been there before, tossed the ball to the ref, and jogged off the field plotting how to get back. That was the ultimate statement for me but that world has passed by.

The stadium is a done deal man. Santa Clara stands to gain quite nicely if they play their cards right. That whole area could be massively developed within the next 20 + years and Santa Clara won’t be the same low key Silicon Valley neighborhood anymore. Financially, they will gain. Might not be too pretty for some people’s tastes though. I guess that’s progress but I’ve got to believe it would have happened anywhere something like that is built.